April 1258
by Dr. Nusakan
Summary: Sir Daniel never considered himself a coward, even as a child living in Gallowmere's palace.


**April 1258**

The stone wall was rough and very tall; so tall that the first time he saw it, Daniel wasn't sure if he could make it to the top. He knew he had to get up there - how else would he be able to see the great, wide plains that stretched away past the edge of town? He could not get out past the castle boundaries without some guard stopping him, and it had taken enough bravery just to sneak away from the other boys of the royal quarters. They were running around in one of the stony courtyards within the fortress, playing some game that Daniel did not understand. The only games he liked were the ones where they all pretended to be knights themselves, engaged in some imaginary war.

But far outside of Gallowmere, true battles were being fought. Young Dan Fortesque knew that the soldiers were out defending the honor of this region of England, particularly of Gallowmere and neighboring towns like Mellowmede, all of which were ruled by King Peregrin.

And so Daniel lived inside the castle walls in one of the small dwellings, not far from the soldiers' barracks. His mother was a maid to royalty and was usually busy inside the main palace, so Daniel, who was almost old enough to be a squire, had already vowed to be loyal to his country and king. He was eager to become a knight someday, and go out to battle enemies himself. He was certain he'd become a hero to all of England - at least, when he was promoted to captain of the guard…

The future knight was snapped out of his fantasy when he heard the clanking of armor nearby. He then realized the sound was coming from above his head, and he looked up quickly. Up on the wall, a guard was passing along. Dan waited until he had gone a decent distance down the length of the wall. Now that no one was nearby to see him, the boy scrambled up the steep steps that led to the wall's lookout path. At least, they were steep stairs for an eight-year-old.

Now he could see the town that lay below him - fair Gallowmere. It was a cheerful, bright place. The inhabitants in town were always out and about at this time of day, going to the merchants' shops, visiting the tavern, or gossiping at the fountain in the town square. Daniel liked the idea that one day he would be responsible for the protection of this place, and the rest of the kingdom. He would be the finest knight England had ever seen…His father always said so, anyway.

Young Fortesque watched the morning bustle below him. The clang of the hammer against the anvil rang out cheerfully from the open door of Stanyer's blacksmith shop. Dan's mother, before she had been taken from the village to work in the palace, knew the blacksmith, and the tavern owner Mr. Shanks, and the priest, and she had been friends with many other of the residents. She'd told him many stories of that life.

Daniel only knew the upper-class life, being a nobleman's son. Sometimes he wondered what the peasant boys wanted to be when they grew up. Ah well, they wouldn't have the privilege of being trained to be a knight, like he would be!

"Dan! What are you doing?" He turned around and looked down to see his friends coming toward the wall, carrying their makeshift swords - scraped sticks - and shading their eyes against the beaming sun overhead. One boy - the one who had called up to him - continued to shout. "Why did you leave?"

"Shush!" hissed Daniel, quickly scrambling down from the wall. His friends stepped backward to let him stand among them. "I was only looking over the wall. It's fun to be up so high."

"You could get caught."

"That's why I wait for the guards to leave."

"Here is your sword, Daniel," said a different boy, changing the subject. He handed Dan a "sword", which was a little bigger than theirs. For among them, Daniel was already a captain in their games.

Daniel seized his sword and looked seriously at the other boys. "Right. If we're going to be warriors some day, we'd better get back to training. I'm going to be the bravest knight England has ever seen!"

"You're too high and mighty, Dan."

"What was that?" Dan raised his sword above his head, causing the others to brandish _their_ swords.

"Armies in position!" yelled the boy who was the captain of the "enemy" army of Dan. Quickly the boys assembled into ranks, facing each other, ready to clash in their own small battle. Daniel had always wished they had bows and arrows to use as weapons, but it wasn't easy making them out of sticks. He wished he was already a grown-up soldier so he could have a horse, too.

Once the "armies" were lined up, Daniel and the opposing captain paused, then nodded at each other and raised their wooden-stick swords in the air, the signal to begin the charge. Racing headlong at their pretend foes, the boys steadied their weapons and tried to put expressions of courage on their faces.

The general rule was that a soldier was "killed" if he was struck hard enough to draw any blood on an arm or leg, or if he was "stabbed" or "slashed" at near his heart. Therefore, besides dealing blows on each other, the young future knights had to shield their chests with their arms crossed. Dan and the others would have preferred using something else as a shield, but they hadn't found anything good enough yet.

Captain Fortesque dodged a few swipes, ducking and covering his chest. He paused, then swung his sword at one of his "enemies" rushing past. It produced a long red scratch on the boy's bare arm, just above the elbow. The boy jumped and put his hand over the wound, but it was too late. The red line was becoming thicker by the second, and his hand was now smeared with the blood. There was no way to hide it.

Dan pushed on, looking left and right to avoid attacks. He was startled when someone fell against his legs, and he glanced down to see his friend Tim, a member of his army, who had tripped and fallen. Daniel grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet. "Up and steady, Tim! Keep fighting!"

Tim winced. "I don't like using a sword, sir! I'd rather be an archer."

"Once we make any bows and arrows, you'll be the first to get them! Now go on!" Dan pushed him back into the battle. Then he took a deep breath and, clutching his sword, went in search of his enemy captain. After a few feet, however, he suddenly stumbled down when he felt another sword hacking repeatedly on his back. He straightened up and whirled around, pushing his sword forward until it poked against the middle of his attacker's torso. The boy groaned at seeing the dirt on his tunic. It was obvious that _he _was "dead".

Young Sir Daniel charged through the crowd, smacking his sword against the ones that were aimed at him. He burst outside of the fray and reached around to touch his back, then brought it back again and gaped at his red-streaked hand. The soldier who had been stabbing his back, whom he had just "killed", had managed to "kill" him as well.

These small battles had given Dan several scratches before, but never a gash like this one. He shoved his sword into the worn-out belt he wore, and frantically waved his arms in the air, shouting as loud as he could, "Stop! Everyone! The battle's called off!" He could feel his back hurting now, and worse, he knew his mother would be furious that the back of his tunic was ripped.

His yells were to of no avail, however. They were drowned out when a guard could be heard bellowing from across the grounds, and all the boys spun around to see him striding towards them. "All of you, back to the courtyard! You don't belong over here." Dan and the other boys, scratched and dirty, turned and scurried back in the direction of the courtyard. Dan wiped his red hands on the handle of his sword.

Suddenly a shout was heard from another part of the ramparts, which could be heard across all of the castle grounds. Everyone stopped and looked up at yet another guard, who was standing in a lookout tower. He let out another yell of, "The army has returned! Go and tell King Peregrin! The royal battalion has returned!"

"They're back!" shouted several small boys, jumping up and down. "Have we won again? They're back!" Some of them ran toward the wall's stairs, and some toward the main palace, hoping to be the first to let the royal household know of the good news. Unfortunately for them, some of the guards had already beat them inside.

Daniel stood where he was, bewildered by the sudden rush of guards and boys all around him. Tim grabbed his arm and shook it. "Come on, Dan! Your father is back - let's go!"

They ran back to the wall, swords forgotten, Daniel with one arm clutching his sore back. Again he ascended the steep stairs, going as fast as his wound would allow him, with Tim right behind him. With no guards bothering to chase them away now, they stared down, looking past the town boundaries, straining their eyes to the meadows beyond. There they caught sight of the glint of armor, of dust trailing behind the war-horses, of a banner being held aloft in victory. Dan managed a grin. "Hah, I knew our army could withstand anything! I'm going to tell Mother." He hurried quickly back to the ground and ran into the castle, thinking to himself, _There'll probably be a feast tonight! Just wait 'til _I'm _a knight…then I can be a hero…_

Little did he know of what the future was to hold. The time would come when good fortune would fail him…as we all know.


End file.
